Thus study was designed to explore how children learn about a scientific-reasoning strategy while engaged in parent-child activity, and specifically to answer two research questions: 1) Can children learn and transfer a scientific reasoning strategy when provided training situated within parent-child activity? and 2) How do parents support young childrens learning and transfer of a scientific reasoning strategy? Thirty parent-child dyads with younger (5- to 6-years-old) and older (7- to 8-years-old) children were recruited to engage in shared scientific-reasoning activities in which they were provided training in the Control of Variables Strategy (CVS): a strategy for designing unconfounded experiments and interpreting the experimental outcome. Families were provided opportunities to apply and transfer their learning of the strategy while exploring materials in two domains in two sessions spaced one month apart. When provided training situated within parent-child activity, 5- to 8-year-old children demonstrated that they could learn to use CVS. Although both older and younger children were able to learn the strategy, age-related differences were detected in childrens transfer abilities. While older children continued to improve in their use of CVS at the second session, younger childrens performance decreased. In answer to Research Question 2, this study illuminated ways that parents and young children engage in scientific activity and build on subsequent related activity. To support childrens engagement, parents varied their support in the design and execution of experiments and they engaged in conversations that supported planning and evaluating activity. Parents reminded children of the strategy and redirected activity to support the generation and evaluation of interpretable evidence. We observed that parents sometimes explicitly reminded children of prior shared activity; these parents were more likely to have children who later became the most reliable users of CVS. Further research is needed, however, to establish causal links between specific types of parent support and patterns of parent-child activity and resultant child learning and transfer.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of short vowels in reading Arabic for skilled Arab adult readers. Previous studies claimed that the presence of short vowels (and diacritics) has a facilitative role in the reading of Arabic. That is, adding short vowels to the consonants facilitates the reading comprehension and reading accuracy of both children and skilled adult Arab readers. Further, those studies claimed that the absence of short vowels (and diacritics) and context makes reading Arabic impossible. But these studies did not manipulate the short vowels and diacritics to the degree that would isolate the short vowels effect. Nor did they take into account the level of reading involved: text, sentence, and word. That is, on a text level, assessing the role of short vowels should take into account the text level in terms of word frequency; on a sentence level, the structure of the sentence- garden-path versus non-garden-path-; and finally, on a word level the type of word, homographic versus nonhomographic. Thus, the study described in the following pages was designed with three tasks to assess the role of short vowels in relation to each level: the text frequency, the garden-path structure, and the homography aspect of the word. In general, the results showed that the presence or absence of short vowels and diacritics in combination do not affect the reading process, comprehension, and accuracy of skilled adult Arab readers. However, only in a word-naming task, the absence of short vowels and context prevented the skilled adult Arab reader from choosing the right form of the heterophonic homographic word. Further, according to the findings, at the absence of short vowels and diacritics in combination, the role of context in Arabic is still limited to the heterophonic homographic words. In sum, the results demonstrated that the only variable that affects the reading process of Adult Arab skilled readers is the word frequency. Justification for such effects and recommendations for pedagogical purposes and future research are suggested.

A technology-enhanced course has many components that contribute to student satisfaction. Although technology plays a role in the delivery of instruction, the focus of this study was to identify student satisfaction with several Components: modes of discussion, modes of research, types of learning activities, modes of submitting assignments, modes of testing, and format of course materials. Additionally, the study described relationships between the learning styles and self-reported measures of student satisfaction for the 19 students in the study. Results from this study indicated that participants were more satisfied with chat room discussions, web-based research, web-based testing, and online availability of course materials and grades than with techniques used in traditional classrooms. Based upon these results, a teacher who is concerned about student satisfaction in technology-enhanced courses should be aware that these teaching techniques were more satisfying to students in a technology-enhanced astronomy course. It would be useful to do more study of the characteristics of technology-enhanced courses that affect student satisfaction and related outcomes.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine which dimensions of teacher preparation contribute to creating effective reading specialists. These dimensions include educational factors, such as certification (Darling-Hammond, 1999), educational experience which points to teacher quality (Ferguson, 1991) and demographic factors such as age, type of teacher preparation programfour year, five year, or Master of Arts in Teaching. Participants were the reading specialist candidates during the 2002-2003 school year at a metropolitan university. This study used reading specialist candidates Grade Point Average, Praxis test scores, teaching experience, class performance rating, and performance rating in the field to examine what background, characteristics, and instruction contribute to the preparation of effective reading specialists. Analyses of data showed that teaching experience, age of candidate, and Praxis certification tests correlated with the outcome measures of coursework, performance rating, and Praxis reading specialist scores. Interviews of reading specialist candidates provided in-depth understanding of how candidates viewed the program. Results of the study contribute to a better understanding of the individual dimensions of the reading specialist candidate. This understanding, in turn, provides further information for the improvement and evaluation of the program, and adds to research about the preparation of reading specialists.

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive strength and decision-making utility of the Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Specifically, the study examined whether DIBELS benchmarks correctly differentiated among students who were at-risk for reading failure and those who were not as measured by end-of-third-grade achievement on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in Reading First schools. More broadly, this study addressed the effectiveness of DIBELS for early identification of children considered to be at-risk for reading failure using the author-recommended benchmarks. Additionally, data were analyzed to determine whether first grade cut-points were appropriately sensitive and specific in relation to long-term predictions (end of third grade) of special education status. When comparing within-year achievement trends, results indicated that DIBELS was generally predictive of first through third grade students Fall to Spring achievement. However, some students did demonstrate erratic achievement. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses revealed that the author-recommended cut-points for the Fall subtests resulted in concerning numbers of false negative and false positive predictions of reading achievement. In fact, the cut-points for the phoneme segmentation fluency (PSF) subtest were found to have a statistically inappropriate balance of sensitivity and specificity. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analyses of students long-term achievement showed that the DIBELS measures administered early in first grade were generally not predictive of third grade reading achievement for students in these Reading First schools. In fact, first grade results explained only 18% of the variability in students third grade reading scores on the PSSA. Finally, logistic regression results suggest that students socio-economic status and race were more accurate predictors of end-of-third grade special education status than their first grade reading achievement on the DIBELS. The overall limited predictive value of DIBELS on students long-term reading achievement raises important concerns about over-reliance on DIBELS in an early intervention framework like Pennsylvanias Reading First initiative and in school-wide educational decision making systems such as Response-to-Intervention (RTI).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of middle school social studies teachers questioning patterns on learners outcomes. Using a strategy developed by Beck, McKeown, Sandora, Kucan, & Worthy (1996), Questioning the Author, participants were trained in the implementation of this effective questioning strategy in an effort to improve classroom questioning and students responses to text. Two volunteer social studies teachers from an inner city middle school in western Pennsylvania were the participants in the study. The investigator served as the primary observer using a case study format. The primary instrument used to gather data was observations. The investigator observed and audio taped each lesson. Once the lessons were audio taped, the observations were transcribed and categorized using an observation tool based on the work of Beck, McKeown, Sandora, Kucan, & Worthy (1996). Four social studies texts were used and each was taught by the participants during a separate 45-minute class period. Together the investigator and the participants pre selected these texts based on curriculum criteria. Once the chosen texts were taught to the students, the investigator trained the subjects in the implementation of Questioning the Author (Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Hamilton, R. L., & Kucan, L., 1997; Beck, McKeown, Sandora, Kucan, & Worthy, 1996) strategies. The investigator then observed the subjects teaching the same four texts. The data obtained from the audio tapes and observations were analyzed using tables and descriptive narratives. In addition, participants kept reflective teaching journals, which were also categorized and analyzed. Additional instruments used to gather data included the Survey: Teaching Questioning Survey and interviews with participants. The survey was distributed prior to the study and sought after information about the participants general knowledge of questioning strategies. Interviews were conducted before and during the study with information obtained woven into the analysis and conclusions. The study concluded that the intervention staff development strategy, Questioning the Author (Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Hamilton, R. L., & Kucan, L., 1997; Beck, McKeown, Sandora, Kucan, & Worthy, 1996) resulted in an increased ability of teachers to ask questions that prompted higher student engagement with text. Similarly, the increase in text engagement resulted in elevated levels of comprehension.

Observational studies of reading instruction for hearing students with and without a disability have provided valuable descriptive information on reading instruction; however, similar studies involving students who are deaf/hard of hearing have not been reported. Thus, an observational study of reading instruction, using the MS-CISSAR protocol, was conducted in general education classrooms, resource classrooms, and self-contained special education classrooms in grades 1-4 in public schools within the tri-state area of OH, PA, and WV. Participants included 24 students (with and without concomitant conditions and with varying levels of hearing loss) and 17 teachers of reading for these students. Results indicated that reading activities varied by reading curriculum grade level, grade level enrolled, instructional setting, and presence of concomitant disability.

Self-efficacy, the belief that one can complete a specific learning task effectively, is of vital importance for students studying Spanish as a foreign language. In prior research increased self-efficacy has been correlated with enhanced learner motivation, academic performance, and overall achievement. Theoretically, learners ability to self-assess their own strengths and limitations during the learning process may be linked to overall self-efficacy. However, this association has not been tested empirically. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a continuous self-assessment component on the self-efficacy of undergraduate students studying Spanish as a foreign language. 104 undergraduate students from two different universities participated in this experimental study. 62 participants were in a treatment group, and 42 participants were in the control group. All participants completed the Spanish as a Foreign Language Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SFL-SEQ) during the second week of the semester (i.e., pre-test) and during the final week of the semester (i.e., post-test). Participants in the treatment group also completed weekly Self-Assessment Questionnaires throughout the semester. Results of an Analysis of Covariance, which tested whether inter-group differences in self-efficacy were different between the control and treatments group at post-test after controlling for participants pre-test self-efficacy scores (i.e., the covariate) were not statistically significant (F [1,86]=1.77, p=.19). However, results of a follow-up 2X2 Analysis of Variance, which tested whether intra-group self-efficacy increased from pre-test to post-test, were statistically significant (F [1,87]=12.40, p<.01). Pairwise t-tests for dependent measures showed that self-efficacy scores did increase significantly from pre-test to post-test for treatment group participants (t = -7.18 [df=53], p<.001), but self-efficacy scores did not significantly increase from pre-test to post-test for control group participants (t = -.90 [df=34], p=.38). Therefore, Spanish undergraduate students self-efficacy seemed to be heightened significantly more with continuous self-assessment than without it. In addition, Pearson correlations revealed that participants Self-Assessment Questionnaire scores were significantly positively correlated with their SFL-SEQ scores. That is, when students rated themselves as learning and knowing more during the course, their self-efficacy scores proportionately increased as well. A detailed interpretation of these results, as well as implications for foreign language education, is provided.

The purpose of this study was to describe the roles and responsibilities of 17 special education teachers and the challenges they encountered in the areas of planning, instructing, and monitoring of student progress of elementary students in 4 school districts in Western Pennsylvania. This study was conducted by collecting data through focus group discussions, written weekly logs, and personal interviews. Focus group questions regarding the teaching practices of special educators were guided by the review of the literature and the conceptual framework of this study, based in part on Dukes 1987 vision of teaching excellence in the areas of planning, instructing, and monitoring student progress. Findings revealed five challenges and impacts of the challenges they encountered in their daily work, together explaining the role dissonance experienced by many special education teachers in todays schools. Real life examples of how teachers cope with the challenges of their daily work were revealed through the stories they told in this study. The collective knowledge and experiences of these teachers stand as examples for others in their own practices.

A single case study design was employed to describe the nature of one exemplary second grade teachers differentiated reading instruction. The teacher participant was selected from a group of exemplary teachers nominated from one rural school district in southwestern Pennsylvania. Data collection consisted of classroom observations, teacher interviews, and classroom artifacts. An analysis of the data revealed that the participating teacher differentiated the following aspects of small group reading instruction: materials, time spent in small group meetings, lesson structure and focus, teacher talk, and post-reading assignments. Ongoing assessments were used as the basis for decision-making about how to differentiate each lesson. A microanalysis of teacher talk was conducted to provide insight regarding the nature of verbal scaffolding in the classroom. Teacher-student interactions were analyzed and coded at the level of utterance. The following categories were used to define the different types of talk used by the teacher to promote the independent use of strategies in reading: direct explanation, explicit modeling, invitations to participate, clarification, verification, and telling. This analysis revealed that the needs of the children created changes in the way the teacher interacted with group members.